As presidential counsel Jay Sekulow has argued, it will only be enough for Democrats if there’s a conviction. But there won’t be a conviction. Chances are the U.S. Senate won’t even vote to call additional witnesses, meaning — this whole charade will be over Saturday morning at the latest.
It’s over, and even the House impeachment officers told us it’s over — whether they realize it or not.
Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., who chairs the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, repeatedly argued to the Senate Wednesday that the impeachment managers had already proved their case beyond not just a reasonable doubt, but "beyond any doubt at all."
Yet, he was quick to equivocate, that just because they had proven their case, that "doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have more proof if it comes forward."
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calf., who chairs the U.S. House Intelligence Committee, has repeatedly called for testimony from John Bolton. His calls for the former national security adviser escalated after The New York Times published what were purported to be excerpts from a forthcoming Bolton tell-all book.
The Times article claimed that Trump told Bolton directly that he wanted to make military aid to Ukraine contingent on an investigation into Joe Biden.
However, this week an August 2019 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty interview of Bolton surfaced, during which he claimed the phone calls between President Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy were "very warm and cordial."
Moreover, you have to wonder why Schiff would want to hear from Bolton in the first place, given that Schiff has repeatedly questioned Bolton’s credibility.
In March of 2018 he told MSNBC's "The Rachel Maddow Show" that he considered Bolton to be a conspiracy theorist:
"John Bolton once suggested on Fox News that the Russian hack of the DNC was a false flag operation that had been conducted by the Obama administration," he told Maddow.
His dismissal of Bolton goes as far back as the George W. Bush administration. He told CNN in 2005, "Why would we want somebody with that lack of credibility I can’t understand."
So why, you might ask, would Schiff want to hear testimony from a conspiracy theorist "with that lack of credibility?"
Calling Trump’s former national security advisor makes even less sense for Democrats when looking at the big picture. If the Democrats’ ultimate goal is to remove the president from office, Bolton’s testimony would have the opposite result.
Whether witnesses are called or not, the Senate trial will end in acquittal.
House impeachment managers can’t possibly eke 67 votes to convict out of a Senate comprised of 53 Republicans, 46 Democrats, and one independent.
The only way Democrats can defeat Trump is at the polls on Nov. 3, 2020.
If they call Bolton, that opens the door to the GOP calling Joe and Hunter Biden, which would, in turn, destroy any chance of a Joe Biden victory.
And with all his flaws, the former vice president is their only rainmaker — the one upon whom they’re pinning all their hopes.
Some pundits have suggested that calling Bolton would be a case of mutually assured destruction, but it won’t be that bad for Republicans.
The GOP may take a few hits, but not nearly as many as Democrats.
In addition to calling both Bidens, Trump’s defense lawyers would likely call:
- The whistleblower
- The "18th impeachment witness," who can reportedly connect the whistleblower to Schiff’s staff
- Adam Schiff himself
Their testimony would destroy any hopes for Democrats at the polls.
Finally, in January of 1999, during the impeachment trial of then-President Bill Clinton, a Maryland senator also argued passionately in favor of calling no witnesses.
Ironically, that senator was Joe Biden.
It’s over. Not only is the impeachment over, but the election is over as well.
Thursday’s Rasmussen Daily Presidential Tracking Poll has Trump at a 50 percent approval rating among likely voters.
Even more significantly, the president’s approval among African American voters has doubled since this time last year, to an amazing 42 percent.
As author and pundit Dan Bongino observed, "You won't see this reported over at MSNBC."
Then there’s the excitement. More than 175,000 ticket requests were submitted for Wednesday’s Trump rally in deep-blue New Jersey. The venue holds about10,000.
In comparison, Biden managed to attract 275 people in Waukee, Iowa, Thursday.
On August 9, 1974, then-President Gerald R. Ford observed at his inauguration, "Our long national nightmare is over."
And a new nightmare is also over.
The script has been written and the characters have been cast.
The Republicans know their lines, even if Democrats are still fumbling with theirs.
It’s over.
Michael Dorstewitz is a retired lawyer and has been a frequent contributor to BizPac Review and Liberty Unyielding. He is also a former U.S. Merchant Marine officer and an enthusiastic Second Amendment supporter, who can often be found honing his skills at the range. To read more of his reports — Click Here Now.
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